BP launches shutdown to improve oil-field safety

Anchorage Daily News ^ | 09-29-05 | By WESLEY LOY

[akdonn]

Oil giant BP, rattled by a string of industrial accidents, said Wednesday it will shut down and refurbish dozens of North Slope oil wells as part of a multimillion-dollar campaign to improve safety.

The shutdown will knock out a big chunk of North Slope production -- about 20,000 barrels a day -- at a time when oil prices are running at historic highs in excess of $60 a barrel. Slope production has averaged 811,000 barrels per day so far this month.

But oil field safety trumps high oil prices, and a review of some 2,000 wells in the huge Prudhoe Bay field, as well as the neighboring Endicott field, found that about 70 oil wells need improvements, BP Alaska spokesman Andrew Van Chau said.

[danmar]

Well, please provide facts,

Read Wall Street Journal once in a while, you will find a bunch of info's!

[Eva]

I am bumping this article because I'm angered at the full page ad that BP took out in the WSJ, supporting global warming theories and environmental controls.

I want everyone to be reminded that during the last spike in oil prices, BP decided to shut down parts of the Alaskan pipeline for so-called safety over hauls. This is starting to be a BP MO. Their buzz word for the tactic is "culture of safety". I've been seeing it in numerous press releases from the company.

[Eva]

I should also add that BP has been trying to make a deal with the Enviros, to give up the normal trade route through the Puget Sound in exchange for expansion of their dock capacity. Of course, BP is prohibited from owning any tanker companies that operate between US ports, so this would be no problem for them, but it would eliminate the shortest and safest route for tankers through the sound and end up costing the consumers in higher gas prices.

[Eva]

bump